What is Instagram’s IGTV App? + Instagram Hits 1 Billion!

On June 20, 2018, Instagram launched IGTV app for watching long-form video content. IGTV will enable creators to share longer videos (up to 60 minutes) on this platform thus a great leap from the limited 1 minute format of Instagram app.

What is IGTV?

IGTV is a standalone app but users can still access it from the main Instagram itself. It’s simple to use, just open the app and start watching content from people you already follow on Instagram and others you might like based on your interests. Here:

Users can swipe up to discover more, switch between “For You,” “Following,” “Popular” and “Continue Watching.”

They can also like, comment and send videos to their friends via Instagram Direct.

This app is designed on how we actually use our phone, vertically. Yes, the videos are full screen and vertical! That’s something even YouTube introduced a while back, and we have to agree it enhances user experience.

Along with the launch, Instagram also announced that it is now a global community of ONE BILLION! That’s a big accomplishment and this new feature will definitely encourage more creators to join the platform for greater exposure and collaborative opportunities.

Facebook is clearly aiming to dominate the video platforms now, firstly with Facebook Watch and now IGTV, but it’s quite far from what YouTube is actually doing, creators can monetize their videos on YouTube, different video formats can be uploaded, and many more features that are YouTube specific.

YouTube or IGTV?

Both!

For a creator it’s always better to publish content wherever possible. If money is a concern, Instagram hasn’t given any details about that but the brand collaboration is one of the main source for influencers on Instagram.

Our take on this!

Instagram and Facebook dominate the social media game, with over 2.2 Billion on Facebook and 1 Billion on Instagram. From what we can see their focus is break YouTube’s monopoly as the only video sharing platform, IGTV is welcomed by users and the initial reviews are interesting, collaboration with famous creators like King Bach & LaurDIYis just a begining. We look forward to what future holds for IGTV.